Wildland Firefighter Academy graduates 31

LANCASTER – Before a crowd of more than 150 proud family members Friday afternoon, 31 men and women graduated from Antelope Valley College’s Wildland Firefighter Academy.

The students spent 240 hours in a rigorous summer training program to earn certification from the National Wildfire Coordinating Group. The training, which focuses on various aspects of wildland firefighting, prepares the students for entry-level jobs as wildland firefighters.

Class President Joshua Franco spoke at the ceremony.

At Friday’s graduation ceremony, retired Glendale Fire Department Battalion Chief Bill Bailey encouraged the future firefighters to always fall back on their training and to remember the three most important qualities learned from the academy – commitment, teamwork, and work ethic.

Class President Joshua Franco and Class Battalion Chief Armando Aguas also gave encouraging remarks at the ceremony.

Alfonso Perez was recognized by his peers as the Most Improved cadet; Armando Aguas was recognized by the graduates as the Most Inspirational cadet; and Jorge Diaz was singled out by faculty for achieving the highest academic score.

Other graduates include:

Hevert Alonzo

Ramiro Arreola

Derek Bonner

Benjamin Brown

Patrick Callinan

Brian Colmenero

Daniel Cortez

Christopher Dorn

Carlos Flores

Jared Garbell

Jospeh Jerrain

Juan Jimenez

Cameron King

Tommy Landeros,

Marquise Lawrence

Vincent Lombardi

Justin Love

Olivia Fuentes Lozano

Jesse Olson

Jake Radcliffe

Gary Remo

Brenee Smith

Steven Soto

Travis Tindell

Mario Velazquez

Joseph Warton

Ashley Wright

This was the 10th class of graduates from the college’s wildland academy.